What do the different boxes mean on Betfair?

When you open a Betfair market for the first time, the layout can look unfamiliar. Unlike a bookmaker that shows one price per selection, Betfair shows six numbers per selection. Here is what they all mean.

The coloured boxes

The two coloured boxes in the middle are the most important. The blue box is the current best back price and the pink box is the current best lay price.

Since matched betting almost always involves placing lay bets on Betfair, the pink box is the number you will be working with most often.

The white boxes (the queue)

The white boxes on either side of the coloured boxes show the next best available prices in the market. Betfair is a marketplace where different traders offer different prices, and the white boxes represent slightly worse prices that are currently available.

For example, if the best lay price is 1.70 with $264 available, and all of that liquidity is taken, the market moves along and 1.72 becomes the new best lay price in the pink box.

Why the queue matters

For most bets this is not something you need to worry about. But if you are placing a larger bet that requires more liquidity than is available at the current best price, checking the queue lets you see how the odds will move as your bet is filled.